Token Skeptic Podcast

Why do we believe weird things? What does feminine intuition really mean? How do you become an effective activist for science and reason? Are you ready for a monthly show that poses these questions and more?
Tune into the Token Skeptic for a slightly more skeptical look at stories in the news, urban legends, good science, pseudoscience, and what makes popular culture pop.
Hosted and produced by philosophy teacher and radio broadcaster Kylie Sturgess.

About a month ago, the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre closed down. More than a thousand displaced refugees are now left in a vulnerable state after being moved to an alternative location.

As the tensions surround the island's Regional Processing Centre grow, many of Australia's senior doctors, psychiatrists and surgeons have written an open letter to the Federal Government, offering to treat the remaining asylum seekers and refugees for free. To tell us more about what's happening is the Communications Director of the Refugee Council of Australia's Tim O'Connor.

Tremendous thanks to my Patreon supporters - they are: Stephen, Steven, Andrew, Troy, Jacqueline, Daniel, Gerry, Dr*T, Josh, Linley, Gold and Iggy. Make sure you check out the bonus content on Patreon and as always, you can join them by heading to patreon.com/kyliesturgess (and check out the Talk the Talk podcast too!).

Please leave positive comments and reviews on iTunes and consider supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback via tokenskeptic@gmail.com.

The recent news that Australia is getting its own Space Agency is one sure to affect the entire nation - but should we be so eager so fast?

The Federal Government has announced its plans to cash in on a $420 billion aeronautical industry and create thousands of new jobs, which coincided with the 69th International Astronautical Congress which is being held in Adelaide this week.

Tremendous thanks to my Patreon supporters - they are: Stephen, Andrew, Jaqueline, Daniel, Kathy, Gerry, Dr T, Josh, Linley, Gold and Iggy. Make sure you check out the bonus content on Patreon and as always, you can join them by heading to patreon.com/kyliesturgess (and check out the Talk the Talk podcast too!).

Please leave positive comments and reviews on iTunes and consider supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback via tokenskeptic@gmail.com.

Cold-pressed juices, quitting sugar, Paleo, hot yoga, mindfulness … if you embrace these things you will be happy, you will be well – just ask Instagram. Wellness has become a global mega-industry. But does any of this stuff actually work?

Feeling exhausted, anxious and out of shape, journalist Brigid Delaney decides to find out – using herself as the guinea pig. Starting with a brutal 101-day fast, Brigid tests things that are meant to make us clean, lean and serene. Travelling the world, she tries colonics, meditation, silent retreats, group psychotherapy and oodles of yoga, working out what is helpful and what is just expensive hype. And she's documented it all in her new book, Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness.

Brigid Delaney is a senior writer for Guardian Australia. She has previously worked as a lawyer and journalist at the Sydney Morning Herald, the Telegraph (London), ninemsn and CNN. She is the author of two books: This Restless Life and Wild Things.

Tremendous thanks to my Patreon supporters - they are: Stephen, Andrew, Jaqueline, Daniel, Kathy, Gerry, Dr T, Josh, Linley, Gold and Iggy. Make sure you check out the bonus content on Patreon and as always, you can join them by heading to patreon.com/kyliesturgess (and check out the Talk the Talk podcast too!).

Please leave positive comments and reviews on iTunes and consider supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback via tokenskeptic@gmail.com.

Tremendous thanks to my Patreon supporters - they are: Steven, Andrew, Jacqueline, Daniel, Kathy, Gerry , Dr*T, Josh, Linley, Gold, Iggy, Lukas, Andrew and Stephen. Make sure you check out the bonus content on Patreon and as always, you can join them by heading to patreon.com/kyliesturgess (and check out the Talk the Talk podcast too!).

Please leave positive comments and reviews on iTunes and consider supporting the show via visiting Tokenskeptic.org – and I’d love to get your feedback via tokenskeptic@gmail.com.

The March For Science is an international phenomenon - a stand for solidarity, for education, for inclusivity and for diversity in the field and for the importance of science to be understood and promoted by not just scientists, but policy makers and the public.

The Perth Writers Festival comes to town and it was a great chance to interview a range of talented authors taking part in the festivities.

My interviews are with:

Ben Rawlence - his book City of Thorns is about Northern Kenya - the home of the world’s largest refugee camp, with half a million people. Opening Night speaker at the Perth International Arts Festival.

Candice Fox - her first novel, Hades, won the Ned Kelly Award for best debut in 2014 from the Australian Crime Writers Association; she has since gone onto numerous books on crime and punishment.

Hannah Kent - is the best-selling author of Burial Rites and the newly released The Good People - stories of culture, crime and history.

Garth Nix - is an award-winning sci-fi fantasy author with several series of fantasy and fiction; I asked him about his new book "Frogkisser" ahead of his appearances at the festival.

Amy Stewart - an author of nonfiction books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including New York Times bestsellers with The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Bugs and Wicked Plants. However, her range has extended to the tales of a trio of turn-of-the-century sisters turned detectives, with the latest being Lady Cop Makes Trouble - the second book in an ongoing series.

Chinelo Okparanta - this Nigerian-American author writes stories of women and children, family life, migration, war and love; she first started with short stories, with the collection Happiness, Like Water and then her most recent novel Under the Udula Trees.

Dan Box - the National Crime Reporter for The Australian and creator of crime podcast Bowraville.

Marwa Al-Sabouni - Syrian architect Marwa al-Sabouni is battling to heal her home city of Homs, having remained there as bombs destroyed much of what she knew and loved. Her ideas to mend the city are now laid out in a visionary memoir, The Battle For Home. She is presenting the closing night address.

Clementine Ford - Australian feminist columnist and author of the best selling book Fight Like A Girl.

Lindy West - is a Seattle-based writer, editor and performer who’s work has appeared in a number of well-known publications - and the author of Shrill: Notes From A Loud Woman.

Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa - a Perth performance poet, she’s a workshop facilitator, actor, artist and humanitarian. Her questions about notions of Australian national identity, got her to the finals of the national Australia poetry slam.

Nathan Hill - short story author and author of The Nix; a tale of estrangement and displacement in both families and national politics.

Adrian Todd Zuniga - creator of Literary Death Match - touted as Def Poetry Jam meets American Idol, this competition sees four authors perform a short excerpt of their most electric work before a panel of judges.

Omar Musa - a Malaysian-Australian rapper and poet from Queanbeyan, Australia. He is the winner of the Australian Poetry Slam and the Indian Ocean Poetry Slam and has released three hip-hop albums, two poetry books, and received a standing ovation at TEDx.